Right
by Just a Little Spark
Summary: They are exactly where they should be. Simple mistakes prove them wrong. How much trouble can a name get you in, anyway? - ShikaIno oneshot. Rated T for Shikamaru & Temari's mouth.


_I was in a stump with my usual couples and decided I wanted to try something new. If I like this, and you like this, I might write more._

 _Rated_ _'T' for language. | Cover image is not mine; credits to the owner._

(*)

In the privacy of a dark room in Sunagakure, two figures desperately fall into each other, their hands quick and efficient, like their ninja reflexes. The first two syllables of his name come out of her mouth in a breathy moan, and he presses his lips against hers, relishing the fact that it is _he_ , lazy as he is, is able to leave her in this situation. He kisses her deeply, his hands tangled in the hair that she _never_ lets down in front of anyone else, and uses it as an anchor to pull himself closer against her.

"Shi-ka..."

He groans as she does what she does best - fights back. His heartbeat erratically beats out of control as he feels her lips melt away from his own and reappear, trailing down from his cheek, to his jawline, down to his neck. He idly traces his hands on her back, forming patterns he could never describe, leaning in close to her ear.

"Ino."

Her name come out of his mouth like a prayer, a soft, reverant noise that is almost like a plea. It is only when he feels her lips disappear from his neck that he realizes his mistake. _Oh, fuck._ His eyes snap open and are open just in time to see the wrong color eyes looking up at him. Disgust, hurt, anger, and sadness flash in her teal eyes... Those eyes that aren't blue.

"Every time. Every time I..." Temari closes her eyes, clenches her fists. "I always think that _this_ time, you're going to be here for me and not... Not some way to forget her."

Shikamaru presses a hand to his forehead, leaning against the wall and looking at anything but her. He's speechless. And this wouldn't be the first time. He feels like dirt. It's troublesome enough that he was even able to feel this guilt; knowing that he was going to lose something he thought was precious to him was even worse.

"I've fucking had it." Her voice, which isn't sad anymore, snaps. He's done more than hurt her; he's stepped all over her pride. "If you don't have the gall to say my name when we... At least have the decency not to say hers!"

"Temari..." The Konoha ninja has been in this situation with her before. All the time. Her name. _Her name_.

She sneers. " _Now_ you say it. Get. Out."

(*)

Another couple miles away does not have the luxury of privacy, however, the dark alley she's dragged him to is as good as they can get.

She hisses through her teeth as he nips at a sensitive spot near her ear, and places both of her hands on his upper arms to steady herself. He knows _exactly_ what makes her breath quicken, what makes her breath shaky, what makes her soul _ignite_ and sends her nerves on a trip to paradise.

" _Ino_ ," he says her name reverently, before trapping her in between his arms and kissing her deeply on the mouth.

Her senses are suddenly alight with fire, and she becomes putty in his hands, purring and reacting to his touches. "You're getting better at this," she is able to murmur, before he takes her lips again.

"For you," he says in a low, husky voice, and she loses herself in him again.

It is taking every inch of her self-control to avoid ripping off his clothes right then and there, and she can't help but do the same. But how _could_ they, when they were away from home at the moment, just about to end a dinner date? His lips brush another spot on her neck, and her knees buckle.

"Sh- _Shikamaru_ ," she breathes out, pale blue eyes closed. Her eyes flash open at her mistake, and she tries to remedy it. "No. _No_. I-I meant... I meant Sai," she says uselessly, even though she knows she's already ruined the mood. Her hands lay on his chest, debating with herself whether to push him away or not.

Sai eventually stops, his eyes on the ground. "Is... Is there something I did?"

Ino sighs, and crosses her arms over her chest. It isn't an irritated sigh, it's... Sad. "No, Sai. I'm just being an idiot."

"This is... An unfamiliar feeling," Sai says uncertainly, and Ino wants to stab herself. Of _course_ she had to be the first one to practically drive a stake through Sai's heart.

"I'm sorry, Sai," she whispers, and wraps her arms around him. "I really am."

They stay that way for a long time, so close together yet so far apart. "If you still love him, and need him, you should go to him, am I correct?" Sai finally says.

She shakes her head. "Sai, you don't have to-"

"I read in a book..." He cuts off his sentence. "I believe it would be best for me to... To stand down," he says slowly. "If he affects you this much, then... It should be the same for him."

(*)

The two of them meet at the gates, and it is a surprise for both of them.

He's on his way back home, tail tucked in between his legs after his fight with Temari. She's running away, not on a mission, but she can't stand to be near Sai.

Her blue eyes widen imperceptibly; he knows she has something on the tip of her tongue. His dark eyes flash with something she's never seen before; for the first time in a long time, she can't read him.

"Ino."

"Shikamaru..."

Everything about them _should_ clash; his name is ridiculously long compared to her three-letter name. Her eyes are so full of life, teasing and playful one moment, vindictive and mischievous the next; his are stoic, calm and calculating. Their personalities are like the sun and moon. Her nagging is the bane of his existence, and his laziness will be the end of her.

Their lips meet for the first time, and it should feel clumsy and wrong, but it isn't; because both of them know that what they're doing is the first thing that's felt _right_ in a long time.

(*)

 _Hello again, everone! I present to you my first ShikaIno! I have to admit that I didn't even ship these two at first. I was happy with whatever Kishimoto shoved at us, at least, for the meantime._

 _And I started reading ShikaIno fics and I was suddenly screaming to myself, THAT FEELS RIGHT! THAT FEELS RIGHT! all over again. I needed to write it._

 _I enjoyed writing the three couples - ShikaTema, SaiIno, and ShikaIno, since all three are different in their own way. I hope I made it work._

 _Feel free to leave criticism or tips in the reviews; reviews make the heart grow fonder!_


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